This promises to be a really good free card. I'm just surprised dos Anjos vs Nurmagomedov isn't on the main card instead of the Tavares vs Romero bout.

I'm rooting for Werdum in this one. I like both fighters and think both deserve a crack at the championship- since Werdum is older, he probably won't get another chance at a shot if he doesn't get it now. Browne, however, can still bounce back if he loses, hence why I'm rooting for Werdum.

I think the Browne/Werdum/Velasquez triangle is an interesting one. I think Browne is a bad match up for Werdum, but I also think Werdum has a better shot against Velasquez than Browne. Browne isn't too different than JDS, except his boxing isn't as good and he throws more kicks. Werdum, meanwhile, has a killer guard, and therefore Velasquez has to be careful if he takes down Werdum. Theres a reason Velasquez chose to stand and strike with Big Nog instead of take him down- though Werdum isn't as slow or predictable as Big Nog is in the striking department.

A big problem Werdum has that would hurt him against Velasquez is his tendency to back straight up when attacked. If he hasn't improved on that, then Velasquez's charging pitbull attacks are going to be a huge problem.

Anyway, that tangent aside, I'm a fan of both fighters and expect a really good showing on Saturday. I think these are the only two who have the potential to stop the division from being "Velasquez, JDS, and everyone else"- Miocic still needs a bit more time before he is ready for the elite (though he could very well prove me wrong in his upcoming fight with JDS), and Overeem needs to learn that having a striking advantage on paper doesn't mean you can get sloppy in the ring and still win.

I'm also pulling for Liz Carmouche, though that is just because she trains with a former Jiujitsu instructor and friend of mine.

Cerrone vs Barboza should also be a pretty badass match. Having two of the best kickers in the division go at it ought to be quite fun.

I'll take Werdum by decision. I believe Browne to be overrated, his fame built mainly on clobbering first the wildly inconsistent Gonzaga, the even more overrated Overeem and an over-the-hill Barnett. Werdum is a tough fucker and his striking is miles better than it used to be, so I doubt he'll knock him out standing, and if the fight should hit the deck Werdum has a serious advantage. What will be most interesting will be to see whether Werdum can take Browne down, which I have some doubts about myself.

I'll take Werdum by decision. I believe Browne to be overrated, his fame built mainly on clobbering first the wildly inconsistent Gonzaga, the even more overrated Overeem and an over-the-hill Barnett. Werdum is a tough fucker and his striking is miles better than it used to be, so I doubt he'll knock him out standing, and if the fight should hit the deck Werdum has a serious advantage. What will be most interesting will be to see whether Werdum can take Browne down, which I have some doubts about myself.

Also rooting for Nurmagomedov, preferably via suplex knockout.

Well when you put it like that Werdum's chances increase in my eyes. You Forgot Browne's KO of inexperienced Struve via Superman punch. I'm still on the edge of my seat since Werdum did lose to Overream.

Damn that was a nice victory by Werdum. His striking has never looked better, and his ground game is clearly still on point. If anyone can give Cain a run for his money right now (or at least enough of one to keep it interesting), it is Werdum.

Also, a lot of tonight's fights showed the incredible effectiveness a well placed jab can have. Always a good remind, especially when a lot of MMA fighters get carried away trying to swing for the knockout far too often.

Great free card wonder if we'll lose Carmouche now. I had Tate up two rounds but the internet feels differently. Werdum owned Browne the whole match he could do nothing with the guy. He's come a long way since his Strikeforce days as long as Cain doesn't get a quick KO it'll be a good fight when it happens.

I was really impressed with Yoel Romero's performance against Tavares; I've been pretty interested in him as a fighter since the last Fight For the Troops card, and he seems to be maturing in the sport at an impressive rate. Besides his obviously stellar wrestling skills, which allowed him to ragdoll Tavares and take him down basically at will, I think he displays some very interesting stand-up, especially his rather unorthodox (and plentiful) leg-kicks. He's definitely one to watch for in the future.

*Man, this double-posting bit is pretty irritating, huh?*

Last edited by Hadzu; 4/20/2014 3:28pm at .
Reason: Once was plenty, thanks.

Brown's Escapes were good against Werdum but he needs to work on his punching. His Right could be seen from London, never mind the back of the hall. He must learn to punch straight from the Shoulder so minimising 'telegraphing'.

Rogan was right in R2, Brown was gassed from the groundwork of Werdum. When the Round ended, he'd placed himself above Brown's Head so as to smother and encourage a Tap.

Miesha did well, very relaxed in style and the rightful winner.

Cerrone's Jab knockdown was a surprise to me, let alone Barbosa. He did excellently to take immediate advantage and gain the Back to apply the RNC.

Brown's Escapes were good against Werdum but he needs to work on his punching. His Right could be seen from London, never mind the back of the hall. He must learn to punch straight from the Shoulder so minimising 'telegraphing'.

Rogan was right in R2, Brown was gassed from the groundwork of Werdum. When the Round ended, he'd placed himself above Brown's Head so as to smother and encourage a Tap.

Miesha did well, very relaxed in style and the rightful winner.

Cerrone's Jab knockdown was a surprise to me, let alone Barbosa. He did excellently to take immediate advantage and gain the Back to apply the RNC.

Brown's Escapes were good against Werdum but he needs to work on his punching. His Right could be seen from London, never mind the back of the hall. He must learn to punch straight from the Shoulder so minimising 'telegraphing'.

Rogan was right in R2, Brown was gassed from the groundwork of Werdum. When the Round ended, he'd placed himself above Brown's Head so as to smother and encourage a Tap.

Miesha did well, very relaxed in style and the rightful winner.

Cerrone's Jab knockdown was a surprise to me, let alone Barbosa. He did excellently to take immediate advantage and gain the Back to apply the RNC.

Brown's Escapes were good against Werdum but he needs to work on his punching. His Right could be seen from London, never mind the back of the hall. He must learn to punch straight from the Shoulder so minimising 'telegraphing'.

Rogan was right in R2, Brown was gassed from the groundwork of Werdum. When the Round ended, he'd placed himself above Brown's Head so as to smother and encourage a Tap.

Miesha did well, very relaxed in style and the rightful winner.

Cerrone's Jab knockdown was a surprise to me, let alone Barbosa. He did excellently to take immediate advantage and gain the Back to apply the RNC.

Last edited by Eddie Hardon; 4/21/2014 12:06pm at .
Reason: it published the text twice.

Brown's Escapes were good against Werdum but he needs to work on his punching. His Right could be seen from London, never mind the back of the hall. He must learn to punch straight from the Shoulder so minimising 'telegraphing'.

Another problem was that, most of the match, Browne focused on throwing the jab-cross combination. This is not a huge problem; in fact that is one of Werdum's favorite punch combinations to throw. In fact, he and his camp probably thought "hey, Werdum likes to throw a lot of 1-2 combos. We'll do that too, and since Browne is bigger, he'll have a higher success rate!"

There were two problems, though. One is that Werdum mixed up the combinations he threw. Browne threw the occasional high kick or looping left hook, but in terms of combos, it was pretty much only the 1-2. The other problem is he tried to make every right hand of his a knockout shot. He'd jab, then throw a thunder right hand. Werdum, meanwhile, threw right hands that had proper form and speed behind them. They weren't knockout shots by themselves, but they had a much better chance of connecting (and indeed, they did) than Browne's right hands.

Last edited by karma2343; 4/21/2014 2:05pm at .
Reason: these double posts tho...